John Towers, the ex Land Rover and Rover Group MD, together with Peter Beale, Nick Stephenson and John Edwards formed the Phoenix Consortium who bought Rover Group for just £10 in April 2000, together with the Studley Castle , a conference hotel.

They then purchased for £20 Midland Powertrain, MG Rover's engine plant from BMW. Finally, for £50 along with a undisclosed sum from the Bank of Scotland, they purchased Rover Capital, (now MG Rover Capital) a book of Rover car loans.

Kevin Howe was appointed MG Rover's MD in July 2000.

In April 2005, MG Rover went into administration, following the collapse of takeover talks. John Towers has been heavily criticised for his role in the company's apparent demise, since he and his colleagues have made millions of pounds, while the workers face a bleak future.